08 HB 670/AP
House
Bill 670 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By:
Representative Sims of the
169th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the imposition, rate, and computation of income tax, so
as to revise and change certain provisions regarding state income tax; to
provide for income tax credits for wood residuals diverted or transported to
renewable biomass qualified facilities for a limited period of time; to provide
for income tax credits for clean energy property for a limited period of time;
to provide for definitions; to provide for procedures, conditions, and
limitations; to provide for powers, duties, and authority of the state revenue
commissioner and the Georgia Forestry Commission with respect to the foregoing;
to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
2 of Chapter 7 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to the imposition, rate, and computation of income tax, is amended by adding a
new Code section to read as follows:
"48-7-29.13.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term:
(1)
'Authority' means the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority.
(2)
'Business property' means tangible personal property that is used by the
taxpayer in connection with a business or for the production of income and is
capitalized by the taxpayer for federal income tax purposes. The term does not
include, however, a luxury passenger automobile taxable under Section 4001 of
the Internal Revenue Code or a watercraft used principally for entertainment and
pleasure outings for which no admission is charged.
(3)
'Clean energy property' includes any of the following:
(A)
Solar energy equipment that uses solar radiation as a substitute for traditional
energy for water heating, active space heating and cooling, passive heating,
daylighting, generating electricity, distillation, desalinization, or the
production of industrial or commercial process heat, as well as related devices
necessary for collecting, storing, exchanging, conditioning, or converting solar
energy to other useful forms of energy;
(B)
Energy Star certified geothermal heat pump systems;
(C)
Energy efficient projects as follows:
(i)
Lighting retrofit projects. 'Lighting retrofit project' means a lighting
retrofit system that employs dual switching (ability to switch roughly half the
lights off and still have fairly uniform light distribution), delamping,
daylighting, relamping, or other controls or processes which reduce annual
energy and power consumption by 30 percent compared to the American Society of
Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers 2004 standard (ASHRAE
90.1.2004); and
(ii)
Energy efficient buildings. 'Energy efficient building' means for other than
single-family residential property new or retrofitted buildings that are
designed, constructed, and certified to exceed the standards set forth in the
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers 2004
standard (ASHRAE 90.1.2004) by 30 percent;
(D)
Wind equipment required to capture and convert wind energy into electricity or
mechanical power as well as related devices that may be required for converting,
conditioning, and storing the electricity produced by wind equipment;
and
(E)
Biomass equipment to convert wood residuals into electricity through
gasification and pyrolysis.
(4)
'Cost' means:
(A)
In the case of clean energy property owned by the taxpayer, cost is the
aggregate funds actually invested and expended by a taxpayer to put into service
the clean energy property; and
(B)
In the case of clean energy property the taxpayer leases from another, cost is
eight times the net annual rental rate, which is the annual rental rate paid by
the taxpayer less any annual rental rate received by the taxpayer from
subrentals.
(5)
'Installation' means the year in which the clean energy property is put into
service and becomes eligible for a tax credit allowed by this Code
section.
(6)
'Renewable biomass qualified facility' means a renewable biomass qualified
facility as defined by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission which facility
meets the open loop biomass standards promulgated pursuant to Section 45 of the
Internal Revenue Code.
(7)
'Wood residuals' means wood residuals that include land-clearing residue, urban
wood residue, and pellets and do not include wood from any United States
national forest.
(b)
A tax credit under this Code section is subject to the following
limits:
(1)
A tax credit is allowed against the tax imposed under this article to a taxpayer
for the construction, purchase, or lease of clean energy property that is placed
into service in this state between July 1, 2008, and December 31, 2012;
provided, however, this credit shall be further subject to the following
conditions and limitations:
(A)
A credit allowed by this Code section shall be taken for the taxable year in
which the clean energy property is installed and may be taken against income tax
or, if the taxpayer is an insurance company, against gross premium
tax;
(B)
A taxpayer that claims a credit allowed under this subsection shall not be
eligible to claim any other credit under this subsection with respect to the
same clean energy property;
(C)
A taxpayer may not take the credit allowed in this subsection for clean energy
property the taxpayer leases from another unless the taxpayer obtains the
lessor´s written certification that the lessor will not claim a credit
under this subsection with respect to the same clean energy property;
and
(D)
In no event shall the amount of the tax credits allowed by this Code section for
a taxable year exceed the taxpayer´s liability for such taxes. Any unused
credit amount shall be allowed to be carried forward for five years from the
close of the taxable year in which the installment of the clean energy property
occurred. No such credit shall be allowed the taxpayer against prior years´
tax liability.
To
claim a credit allowed by this paragraph, the taxpayer shall provide any
information required by the authority or department. Every taxpayer claiming a
credit under this Code section shall maintain and make available for inspection
by the authority or department any records that either entity considers
necessary to determine and verify the amount of the credit to which the taxpayer
is entitled. The burden of proving eligibility for a credit and the amount of
the credit rests upon the taxpayer, and no credit may be allowed to a taxpayer
that fails to maintain adequate records or to make them available for
inspection;
(2)
A taxpayer who transports or diverts wood residuals to a renewable biomass
qualified facility shall be allowed a credit against the tax imposed by this
article in an amount not to exceed the actual amount certified by the Georgia
Forestry Commission to the taxpayer. The value of such credit shall be
determined on a per tonnage basis. Such certification shall be based upon
vouchers provided to the taxpayer by the renewable biomass qualified facility to
whom the wood residuals are provided for the purpose of providing bioelectric
power to a third party. The Georgia Forestry Commission shall calculate and
attribute a dollar value to such wood residuals;
(3)
In no event shall the total amount of tax credits allowed by this subsection
exceed:
(A)
For calendar year 2008, $2,500,000.00;
(B)
For calendar year 2009, $2,500,000.00;
(C)
For calendar year 2010, $2,500,000.00;
(D)
For calendar year 2011, $2,500,000.00; and
(E)
For calendar year 2012, $2,500,000.00.
(4)(A)
A taxpayer seeking to claim any tax credit provided for under this Code section
must submit an application to the commissioner for tentative approval of such
tax credit. The commissioner shall promulgate the rules and forms on which the
application is to be submitted. The commissioner shall review such application
and shall tentatively approve such application upon determining that it meets
the requirements of this Code section within 60 days after receiving such
application.
(B)
The commissioner shall allow the tax credits on a first come, first served
basis. In no event shall the aggregate amount of tax credits approved by the
commissioner for all taxpayers under this Code section in a calendar year exceed
the limitations specified in paragraph (3) of this subsection;
(5)
The credit allowed by this subsection shall not exceed the following
amounts:
(A)
For all types of clean energy property placed into service for any purpose other
than single family residential, the credit allowed by this subsection may not
exceed the lesser of 35 percent of the cost of the clean energy property
described in subparagraphs (a)(3)(A) through (a)(3)(C) of this Code section or
the following credit amounts for any clean energy property:
(i)
A ceiling of $500,000.00 per installation applies to solar energy equipment for
solar electric (photovoltaic), other solar thermal electric applications, and
active space heating, wind equipment, and biomass equipment as described in
subparagraphs (a)(3)(A), (a)(3)(D), and (a)(3)(E) of this Code
section;
(ii)
The sum of $100,000.00 per installation applies to clean energy property related
to solar energy equipment for domestic water heating as described in
subparagraph (a)(3)(A) of this Code section which is certified for performance
by the Solar Rating Certification Corporation, Florida Solar Energy Center, or
by a comparable entity approved by the authority to have met the certification
of Solar Rating Certification Corporation OG-100 or Florida Solar Energy
Center-GO-80 for solar thermal collectors;
(iii)
For Energy Star certified geothermal heat pump systems as described in division
(a)(3)(B) of this Code section, the sum of $100,000.00;
(iv)
For a lighting retrofit project as described in division (a)(3)(C)(i) of this
Code section, the sum of $0.60 per square foot of the building with a maximum of
$100,000.00; and
(v)
For an energy efficient building as described in division (a)(3)(C)(ii) of this
Code section, the sum of the cost of energy efficient products installed during
construction at $1.80 per square foot of the building, with a maximum of
$100,000.00; and
(B)
The following ceilings apply to clean energy property placed in service for
single family residential purposes, the lesser of 35 percent of the cost
or:
(i)
The sum of $2,500.00 per dwelling unit applies for clean energy property related
to solar energy equipment for domestic water heating as described in
subparagraph (a)(3)(A) of this Code section which is certified for performance
by the Solar Rating Certification Corporation, Florida Solar Energy Center, or
by a comparable entity approved by the authority to have met the certification
of Solar Rating Certification Corporation OG-100 or Florida Solar Energy
Center-GO-80 for solar thermal collectors, Solar Rating Certification
Corporation certification OG-300 or Florida Solar Energy Center-GP-5-80 for
solar thermal residential systems, or both;
(ii)
The sum of $10,500.00 per dwelling unit applies for clean energy property
related to solar energy equipment for solar electric (photovoltaic), other solar
thermal electric applications, and active space heating as described in
subparagraph (a)(3)(A) of this Code section, or to wind as described in
subparagraph (a)(3)(B) of this Code section; and
(iii)
The sum of $2,000.00 per installation for Energy Star certified geothermal heat
pump systems applies as described in subparagraph (a)(3)(B) of this Code
section; and
(6)(A)
Where the amount of any credits allowed by this Code section except for the
credit under paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Code section exceeds the
taxpayer´s liability for such taxes in a taxable year, the excess may be
taken as a credit against such taxpayer´s quarterly or monthly payment
under Code Section 48-7-103. Each employee whose employer receives credit
against such taxpayer´s quarterly or monthly payment under Code Section
48-7-103 shall receive credit against his or her income tax liability under Code
Section 48-7-20 for the corresponding taxable year for the full amount which
would be credited against such liability prior to the application of the credit
provided for in this subsection. Credits against quarterly or monthly payments
under Code Section 48-7-103 and credits against liability under Code Section
48-7-20 established by this subsection shall not constitute income to the
taxpayer.
(B)
In no event shall the total amount of the tax credit under paragraph (2) of
subsection (b) of this Code section for a taxable year exceed the
taxpayer´s income tax liability. Any unused tax credit shall be allowed
the taxpayer against succeeding years´ tax liability. No such credit shall
be allowed the taxpayer against prior years´ tax liability.
(c)
The authority and department shall be authorized to adopt rules and regulations
to provide for the administration of any tax credit provided by this Code
section. Specifically, the authority and department shall create a mechanism to
track and report the status and availability of credits for the public to review
at a minimum on a quarterly basis.
(d)
The authority and the department shall provide an annual report of:
(1)
The number of taxpayers that claimed the credits allowed in this Code
section;
(2)
The cost of business property and clean energy property with respect to which
credits were claimed;
(3)
The type of clean energy property installed and the location;
(4)
A determination of associated energy and economic benefits to the state;
and
(5)
The total amount of credits allowed."
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2008.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.